Elon Musk’s Toadies Gobble Up Pathetic Explanation For Why He Nixed Don Lemon’s Deal

Elon Musk may only be the second wealthiest person in the world. But as the sole owner of X, there is a compelling argument that he is the single most powerful person in media, by a wide margin.

He has an enormous platform himself, with 177 million followers and the ability to control the terms of engagement on X, stripping outlets he doesn’t like of their verification and using the platform to shut down criticism of his own posts.

So, no one should be surprised by the naked sycophancy and excessive credulity shown by his biggest supporters this week when Don Lemon revealed Musk canceled their agreement for a show on X soon after the pair filmed an extensive interview together.

Lemon broke the news Wednesday that Musk had nixed his deal to publish his new interview show on X, where another exiled cable news star, Tucker Carlson, has made a new digital home. The abrupt news came just after Lemon filmed an interview with Musk, which he described as vaguely tough but eminently fair. Clips aired on CNN of the conversation reveal a slightly uncomfortable Musk fielding perfectly expected questions from Lemon.

The interview did not go over well with Musk, who texted Lemon’s agent, Jay Sures, the day after the interview wrapped, saying: “Contract terminated.” Musk did Lemon an enormous favor, of course; the interview, which will air on Monday, has the best promotion one could ever dream of.

Musk’s side of the story, meanwhile, is tremendously dubious. The free speech absolutist claimed on X that he canceled the interview because, well, let’s let his words speak for themselves:

His approach was basically just “CNN, but on social media”, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.

And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity.

All this said, Lemon/Zucker are of course welcome to build their viewership on this platform along with everyone else.

Let’s get this straight: Musk canceled the Lemon deal because the former CNN veteran conducted the interview like a CNN veteran would? Did Elon Musk expect Lemon to turn into Tucker Carlson after signing his deal with X?

The New York Post gobbled up that absurd explanation for why the deal was canceled. “A source with knowledge” of the interview told the Post that “Lemon seemed lost without former CNN boss Zucker’s guidance.” The rest of the piece cites sources who parrot Musk’s claims about why he canceled the deal.

On Fox News, host Emily Compagno reacted giddily to Musk’s absurd explanation, exclaiming, “Drop the mic!” after reading his post on air. Cheryl Casone struck a similar note on Outnumbered, saying, “Elon Musk is worth $200 billion, and that is the interview you do with him!? The guy is a genius! I watched the whole Don Lemon interview and that was a missed opportunity. And he just gave you a deal and you attack him on your platform? Don Lemon, not the smartest move.”

And, of course, there was also a predictable raft of braindead comments on X from people more interested in confirming their hatred of Lemon and taking Musk’s side before any details emerged.

The interview doesn’t air until Monday, but looking at what has been shared thus far, it feels like Lemon followed the grand tradition of speaking truth to power.

Musk is not a child, despite what you may have seen on his X feed. He is an enormously powerful billionaire with significant influence over industries and governments and the access to free speech for millions. He absolutely should face tough questions. There is no evidence that Lemon’s interview was anything but standard for a real journalist interviewing someone of Musk’s caliber.

Given Musk’s wealth, power, and influence, he surely should have expected and been prepared for a tough interrogation. In the answers we’ve seen, he comes across as ill-prepared, shocked that he’s being asked tough questions, and a little angry that Lemon dared to prioritize journalistic integrity over a paycheck. I can’t diagnose Musk, but his reaction to the interview appears to be a bad case of spending too much time having your beliefs confirmed by obsequious followers on a platform defined by algorithmic groupthink.

As George Orwell is often credited with saying, “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.” Which is why the criticism heaped towards Lemon for this ordeal is so remarkably embarrassing for those doing the heaping.

Take, for example, Megyn Kelly’s reaction. She argued: “Don Lemon behaved like an asshole who was not grateful to Elon Musk for resurrecting his career.”

You read that right; Kelly is criticizing Lemon for not expressing enough gratitude to Musk in his interview. Kelly’s school of journalism would apparently teach reporters to give a pass to the powerful if they are paying them off. Huh.

She went on to point out the tricky nature of interviewing one’s boss:

It’s very hard for Don Lemon in his position to both be a good journalist and be a good employee. You know, the man’s paying your salary, so you do owe him a level of respect and discretion, and at the same time you want to prove to us in your first interview back how hard hitting you are, and those two goals are not aligned. So I don’t blame Elon for being mad at the way he was treated, which now Don is admitting it didn’t end well and Elon was pissed off when it ended.

But then Kelly argued that Lemon should express gratitude: “The man that just resurrected your career! Show some gratitude! Ask him about how amazing X is doing and how it’s thriving, notwithstanding all the doomsday predictions and whatever happened to loser Threads over on Facebook. Elon’s having a moment, but not in Don’s life and his world, even though he just got this great opportunity.”

She concludes by yelling at Lemon, “You’re not the victim! You’re not the victim! You’re not a victim in any way.” Lemon has not called himself a victim in this ordeal, and honestly, comes across more like a guy delighted he is getting rewarded for not lying down in a high-stakes interview.

Fortune favors the bold.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.